Chapter 49 0051: I Dare Not Ask, Nor Speak (Third Update)

The next day.

Chu Yun emerged from a room reserved for him in the Ye family’s house, and Ye Wuzhao eagerly approached, asking, "Brother-in-law, shall I drive you to school?"

Chu Yun ignored him. When Ye Linglong came downstairs, Chu Yun noticed her school uniform had changed.

She had been promoted directly to the elite class.

Ye Linglong saw Chu Yun looking at her uniform and, feeling a bit embarrassed, explained, "The school made an exception and put me in Team 3. They said I should try to score points in the girls’ sparring event."

Chu Yun smiled wryly. Clearly, the First Martial Academy was aiming to block Lan Feng.

They truly didn’t intend to give Lan Feng any chance at those three spots. Ye Linglong was obviously there to counter Hou Manman.

“How confident are you against Hou Manman?” Chu Yun asked.

“She’s never beaten me,” Ye Linglong replied.

Chu Yun nodded.

He understood.

“Will you participate?” Ye Linglong asked.

Chu Yun answered honestly, “I didn’t know that accepting a scholarship meant I had to help the school win honor.”

Ye Linglong paused, surprised. "Are you short on money? You can tell me."

Chu Yun shook his head, not wanting to continue the conversation, and resumed brushing his teeth.

Seeing that he wasn’t in the mood to chat, Ye Linglong walked a few steps, then turned back and asked, “If I end up facing Hou Manman, who will you support?”

Chu Yun replied, “I support Lan Feng.”

There was nothing wrong with that answer.

Ye Linglong smiled faintly, unable to help but admire his clever response, then turned and left.

Ye Wuzhao watched his sister, following along, muttering in confusion, “My sister’s been smiling a lot more lately.”

Chu Yun finished washing up, bought a bread breakfast, and rode the cable car to the academy, munching on his way.

He didn’t know that when he arrived at the academy gate, Ye Linglong, who had gotten there early, hadn’t rushed into her own school. Instead, she stood across the street, watching Chu Yun from afar as he entered, only then walking into her own academy.

The two schools were separated by just a main road. She also saw the grand bus from Longjiang Academy that had arrived early at Lan Feng.

Chu Yun slung his backpack over one shoulder, glanced casually at the Longjiang Academy bus, then went inside.

Many Lan Feng students gathered at the gate, eager to catch a glimpse of the celebrity Team 3 from Longjiang, especially the girls, who seemed desperate to attract attention, sending flirtatious glances in that direction.

Lan Feng’s senior staff lined up to welcome the visitors, then led the student teams to a dormitory in the back courtyard, rented for their short stay.

The Longjiang teachers were considerate, settling the luggage first, then had the students change into their official Longjiang uniforms, and took their team to pay respects in Lan Feng’s star class backyard.

Of course, "paying respects" sounded nice. Less nicely, they were there to steal the spotlight!

Chu Yun had just arrived in the backyard, hadn’t even put down his backpack, when the Longjiang group marched in.

Their leading teacher strode in and laughed heartily, "Teacher Yu, it’s been so long!"

Teacher Yu immediately stepped forward to shake hands, smiling insincerely, "You could have told us, and we’d have met you at the gate."

Longjiang’s star team teacher inwardly scoffed.

He knew Teacher Yu was being deliberate, clinging to appearances—since Lan Feng’s star team was Team 1, welcoming Longjiang’s Team 3 would be admitting a lower status.

"Well, I knew you were busy, so I didn’t want to trouble you. I thought I’d bring the students to get familiar with the surroundings—hope we’re not offending," said Teacher Zhang from Longjiang, smiling.

"Not at all," Teacher Yu replied with a smile, inwardly cursing.

Teacher Zhang looked over at familiar faces like Zhang Yang, and said to Teacher Yu, "Are you planning to give up this year? Or is your lineup unchanged? I heard you were quite confident, which is why you invited us for this exchange."

He spotted Hou Manman and smiled, "Inviting Hou Manman caught me by surprise. Seems you’re aiming to score points in the girls’ singles—I’m looking forward to it. But I checked your team’s roster and saw you have a member under eighteen. Yu, tell me, are you serious? You have Duanmu Ci as your reliable scorer, and I heard other local academies gave up on this event entirely. What’s your plan? How about this: instead of waiting until the city match to face Duanmu Ci, today let our students spar a bit? Coincidentally, I brought an under-eighteen student as well; why not let them try each other?"

"Is that appropriate?" Teacher Yu asked.

"What’s inappropriate?" Teacher Zhang laughed. "They’re peers; they should interact more. Last couple of years, I saw Lan Feng’s upper limit—today, let me see the lower limit of your rare under-eighteen newcomer."

"He’s not our lower limit," Teacher Yu said, glancing at Chu Yun sitting on the lawn away from the handshake commotion. "He’s our upper limit."

"Perfect," Teacher Zhang smiled, beckoning to Xiao Guo behind him. "He’s our lower limit, and I believe he matches up to your upper limit."

Teacher Yu’s face twitched—this was rubbing salt in the wound.

In the past two years, Lan Feng’s upper limit had been crushed by Longjiang’s lower limit!

As the teachers bantered, students on both sides were equally competitive. Longjiang’s students were even more proactive, going up to greet Zhang Yang and his group.

Longjiang’s class leader said, "It’s been a while."

Zhang Yang stepped forward to shake hands, "It’s been a while."

Those who knew each other exchanged handshakes and friendly greetings.

However, the Longjiang students were a bit sharp-tongued.

"Back then, I thought that exchange would make you leave the star class, but it’s still you guys. Is Lan Feng so rich they can’t recruit new talent?"

"Honestly, you haven’t improved much in these two years. I heard you got plenty of scholarships—didn’t spend the money wisely, I guess."

"No wonder people say Lan Feng is a black hole for martial artists; so many students come in just to fade away."

Zhang Yang and his group suffered, forced to smile warmly while shaking hands, yet unable to counter the verbal jabs, wishing they could disappear.

Longjiang’s class leader looked at Zhang Yang and smiled, "As class leaders, shouldn’t we set an example and have a formal bout?"

Zhang Yang grinned, "Sure."

Then he pointed to Chu Yun sitting on the grass nearby, "Our class leader is over there—you’ve got the wrong guy."

Longjiang’s class leader was momentarily stunned, thinking Zhang Yang was dodging a fight, but when he looked at Lan Feng’s other members, they nodded, "He’s our new class leader."

So the Longjiang leader walked over and extended a hand to Chu Yun.

"I’m Longjiang’s class leader. Pleased to meet you."

Chu Yun didn’t stand up—he sat and extended his hand in return, "I’m Lan Feng’s representative class leader."

The Longjiang student team watched their leader go to shake hands, but the other class leader remained seated on the lawn, not bothering to stand. They all frowned.

Even Teacher Zhang from Longjiang noticed, smiling as he said to Teacher Yu, "Your upper limit has quite a personality."

"I agree," Teacher Yu replied. "He’s always like this—I don’t dare ask, nor say anything."

(Three chapters today, still asking for recommendation votes.)